Just as an FYI, the ones listed on eBay are e46 in the image. I would be curious to know if they have any of the correct style. We have had them on order for a while and they are NOT in the US - National Back Order through BMW.

We only use original OE parts to guarantee an original fit and use Factory paint as opposed to less expensive paint (it may look the same at first, but it will not weather the same as the factory parts will).

I would caution anyone to know what they are getting. Yes, ours are more expensive - and there is a reason. The lenses themselves will be $30-40, then you add paint and clearcoat. If anyone is doing it for $40 painted I would be very interested to know HOW they are doing that with OE parts and OE paint.

The market will be the judge, but I would think on a BMW, especially a $70K new M3, a customer would want something that is of the same build quality and finish as their new baby.

We have never been a low price leader, but what we do offer is a great value and high quality.

Group buys involving third parties aren't worth the extra hassle, IMO, but I wouldn't do eBay.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dillon733

whats longtrans website i cant seem to find it

i just trust the guy coz i got a few things done by him, and he seems to get the best color match coz he's a car enthusiast and not a vendor. he just does things to make our cars look nice, not to make money.

how come? urs confused me. they seemed to match in some shots, and seemed to mismatch in others. that's why we go to longtran

Here's why. Longtran can't do anything to fix this.

I just picked up my repainted reflectors from the body shop. It wasn't an issue with the color not matching the rest of the body, it's actually the shape of the reflector itself. The reflector doesn't follow the shape of the rest of the bumper, meaning the entire bumper follows an exact curvature all the way around. The reflector deviates from that curvature and reflects a different angle and thus a different image and lighting. If you're in an environment where there are many differently shaded and/or physically opposite objects, then you'll see the difference. But if you're in a position where the bumper and reflector reflect the same object, such as a blue sky, then you won't see a difference. This wasn't the case with the E46 M3 reflector, as it had the same curvature as the bumper itself. I'm attaching a few pictures to show what I mean.

Bumper/reflector reflecting different elements of the environment:

Bumper/reflector reflecting the same elements. This is where the bumper/reflector appear to match:

Just as an FYI, the ones listed on eBay are e46 in the image. I would be curious to know if they have any of the correct style. We have had them on order for a while and they are NOT in the US - National Back Order through BMW.

We only use original OE parts to guarantee an original fit and use Factory paint as opposed to less expensive paint (it may look the same at first, but it will not weather the same as the factory parts will).

I would caution anyone to know what they are getting. Yes, ours are more expensive - and there is a reason. The lenses themselves will be $30-40, then you add paint and clearcoat. If anyone is doing it for $40 painted I would be very interested to know HOW they are doing that with OE parts and OE paint.

The market will be the judge, but I would think on a BMW, especially a $70K new M3, a customer would want something that is of the same build quality and finish as their new baby.

We have never been a low price leader, but what we do offer is a great value and high quality.

Off my soap-box now!

thanks
Brad

BMW sells the OEM reflecters at $12.98 each (pair $25.96) to distributers. the amount of paint required for these reflecters is very small. Even if you were useing the most expensive paint lines you would be looking at MAX $10 per set in paint supplies.

If they make $5 per set thats their choice. I use to work in auto repairs so I would say I have a fair share in pricing knowledge.

I just picked up my repainted reflectors from the body shop. It wasn't an issue with the color not matching the rest of the body, it's actually the shape of the reflector itself. The reflector doesn't follow the shape of the rest of the bumper, meaning the entire bumper follows an exact curvature all the way around. The reflector deviates from that curvature and reflects a different angle and thus a different image and lighting. If you're in an environment where there are many differently shaded and/or physically opposite objects, then you'll see the difference. But if you're in a position where the bumper and reflector reflect the same object, such as a blue sky, then you won't see a difference. This wasn't the case with the E46 M3 reflector, as it had the same curvature as the bumper itself. I'm attaching a few pictures to show what I mean.

Bumper/reflector reflecting different elements of the environment:

Bumper/reflector reflecting the same elements. This is where the bumper/reflector appear to match:

yah i have no idea why bmw went for this design where they stick out. on a white car it'll be alright i think, but on metallic colors it will have different shades. Maybe smoked or clear reflectors would do? .